The Weather

I remember thinking it was funny when my Grandpa used to make casual conversation by talking about the weather. Even at a young age, if I were to talk to him on the phone, he would ask about the weather.

When he used to pump gas at the gas station and I would go there to hang out with him, he would talk to customers about the weather.

I found it funny. Something so simple. Something, at the time, seemed boring.

I was reminded of his use of the topic of weather to break the ice today while I was training.

I was training on the internet over VoIP. It is important to build some type of report with your group when training. This is hard enough to do while training live, let alone training over the internet. So I attempt to bring out my best humor and stories. We were waiting for everyone to join the class, when I started to make casual conversation....about the weather!

I made a joke about being out in the humidity and they should have pitty on me. Everyone joined in discussing weather in their areas, other places they had been, dry heat vs. humidity.

Well...it opened the doors!

So, it seems, that everyone has weather in common. You can't really offend anyone talking about weather. There's really no room for conflict or debate when it comes to weather.

My grandpa was a wise man! He knew just what talking about the weather could do! He was a good man!